


Flying High Tumblr Fics

by iwillnotbecaged



Series: Flying high without ever leaving the ground [9]
Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Animals, Fluff, Multi, Pillow & Blanket Forts, evil exes, vague mentions of ptsd
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-28
Updated: 2016-04-11
Packaged: 2018-05-16 21:09:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5841097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwillnotbecaged/pseuds/iwillnotbecaged
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of Tumblr fics within the <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/series/383230">Flying high without ever leaving the ground</a> series. Each chapter can be read on its own.</p><p>1. The boys dogsit for Clint<br/>2. Sam runs into his ex<br/>3. The boys have a mission at an animal shelter<br/>4. Sam goes to brunch<br/>5. A snow day<br/>6. A Jurassic Park AU...sort of</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lucky Ducks

“Thank you so much for watching Lucky on such short notice. I shouldn’t be more than a few days, I promise.”

Sam took the leash from Clint. “No problem! We love when we get to have Lucky around.” He crouched down to pet Lucky, eyeing Clint in the doorway. He was holding a large basket. “That’s a lot more stuff than you usually bring when you drop him off.”

Clint gave him a sheepish look and rubbed the back of his neck. “Um, yeah, well…I may have forgotten to mention that Lucky sort of, um, adopted some baby ducks?”

“Wait, what?”

“They found him at the park or something and now they follow him everywhere and I can’t really do anything about it. Anyway, thanks again for watching him. I’ll let you know when it’s safe—I mean, when I’m on my way back!” Clint rushed out of the apartment before Sam could say anything, closing the door behind him.

Sam stood with his hands on his hips, looking down at Lucky and the basket which he could now see was home to six fluffy yellow ducklings.

“What have you gotten me into, Lucky?” The dog cocked his head and gave a dopey smile, his tongue flopping out of his mouth. His tail thunked against the floor as it wagged. Sam reached down to scratch behind his ears. “Yeah, yeah, you’re a good dog. Come keep me company while we wait for Steve and Bucky to get home.”

Sam got a text from Steve about an hour later.

“Headed home

Buck had a rough session, so we’re just gonna stop and grab some take-out for dinner. Get a movie ready for us?”

“Sure thing. Lucky’s here, by the way.”

“Oh good. Bucky’ll enjoy that.”

“He brought some friends too.”

“???”

“You’ll see when you get here :)”

Sam turned to look at Lucky, who was laying on the floor with his head propped up on the basket of ducklings. “Sounds like a night for a pillow fort, what do you think?” Lucky wagged his tail. “Yes, I know, I do have brilliant ideas.”

Half an hour later, every blanket, pillow, and cushion in the apartment was in the living room. Sam surveyed his work.

“Looks pretty good, doesn’t it Lucky? I make a damn fine pillow fort.”

“Hey Sam, we’re home!”

Sam headed to the door to help Steve with the food. “Hey, guys.” He gave Steve a quick kiss and took one of the bags from him. “How you doing, Bucky?”

Bucky didn’t say anything, just wrapped Sam into a tight hug. Sam held him close with the arm that wasn’t holding food. It didn’t surprise him that Bucky wasn’t up for talking; he was usually quiet after a difficult therapy session.

“Come on, let’s get the food sorted out and then I’ve got everything set up in the living room.”

The three of them headed into the kitchen, grabbing plates and dishing out rice and noodles and everything else. Sam opened a cabinet and took down three glasses.

“Y’all head on in. I’m gonna get us some water and I’ll be right behind you.”

Steve and Bucky went into the living room. “Sam! This looks awesome!” Steve called back.

“I thought it sounded like a pillow fort kind of day,” he answered.

“Um…there might be a slight problem though.”

Sam came in and saw Steve and Bucky standing in the middle of the living room, looking down into the pillow fort with bemused faces. Sam set the water glasses down and walked around to see what they were looking at.

In the middle of his pillow fort was Lucky, lying down with all six ducklings huddled up next to his stomach.

“Well, damn. That’s so adorable I can’t even be mad he stole it.”

Bucky crouched down, set his plate on the floor, and crawled carefully into the fort. He settled down next to Lucky and gingerly picked up one of the ducklings. He stroked it gently with his right index finger, then held it up next to his face and rubbed his cheek against the soft fluff. Bucky looked up at them and patted the space next to him.

Sam looked over at Steve, who’s eyes were just a little bit watery. Steve sniffed and then folded himself into the fort next to Bucky. He reached over and grabbed the plate Bucky had set down so that it would be in reach when he wanted to eat.

Sam eyed the space that was left and looked skeptically at the cushions that made up the sides of the fort. Then he shrugged and squeezed himself in on the other side of Lucky. Even if it did topple down around them, a few blankets weren’t going to do much harm. Sam hit play on the remote and three grown men, a dog, and six ducklings settled in for the evening.


	2. Captain America & Bucky Barnes vs. the Cheating Ex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam runs into his ex-boyfriend at the grocery store.

Sam is in the cereal aisle debating the relative merits of Lucky Charms and Cinnamon Toast Crunch when he hears his name.

“Sam? Is that you?”

Sam turns and his stomach drops.

“Justin. Hi.”

Justin walks over, hand in hand with a tall man with dreadlocks.

“I didn’t know you were back in New York! Or are you just here visiting?”

“I’m back. Moved a few years ago, after the whole mess in DC.” Sam realizes he’s squeezing the cereal box pretty hard and forces his hands to relax.

“I thought about you when I saw that on the news. Crazy.” Justin seems completely oblivious to Sam’s discomfort. “You remember Darius, don’t you?”

Sam huffs a humorless laugh. “Uh yeah, I remember Darius.”

“Did you pick a cereal, babe?” Sam has never been so relieved to hear Steve’s voice.

“No, not yet,” he replies as Steve slips an arm around his waist and kisses his temple. “I couldn’t decide.”

“Go ahead and throw both of them in the cart. We’ll eat them.” Sam does, and then puts his hand on Steve’s back and grips his shirt to ground himself. Steve looks over at Justin and Darius. “Who’s this?”

“Uh, this is Justin and Darius. Justin and I used to date before I moved to DC.”

“Oh, right. I remember you mentioning him.” Steve extends his hand, giving the two men his best Captain America smile. “I’m Steve. Steve Rogers.”

Justin startles a little bit, but recovers quickly. “Nice to meet you, Steve.”

“What the fuck is taking you guys so long?” Bucky comes around the end of the aisle. “Oh, sorry. I don’t mean to interrupt.”

“No worries, Buck.” Steve is still grinning and using his wholesome-as-apple-pie voice. “Sam was just introducing me to Justin and Darius.”

Bucky recognizes the name and his eyes flicker over to Sam. He sidles up to Sam on the opposite side of Steve and takes advantage of the opportunity to lean in and give Sam a kiss. Sam ducks his head slightly and sneaks a look at Justin. It’s worth it - he might as well have a neon sign over him flashing “does not compute”.

“Oh, hi. I’m Bucky.” He gives a little wave with his metal fingers, but doesn’t offer a handshake. “Well, I hate to break up the party, but we do really need to get going. We’ve got that thing at Natasha’s later and we don’t want to be late.”

Justin pulls himself together enough to respond. “We don’t to keep you. It was good to see you again, Sam.”

“Yeah, you too, Justin. Take care.”

Steve lets go of Sam so that he can push the cart, but Bucky keeps a hold of him. Steve leans over to give Sam a kiss and then they’re headed towards the registers. They’re all the way down the aisle, but they can hear Darius anyway.

“Your ex is dating Captain fucking America!? And Bucky Barnes!?”

“You better fucking believe he is. And we love every single moment of it.” Steve speaks low enough that Justin and Darius can’t hear him, but that doesn’t matter. Sam hears.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys have a mission at an animal shelter.

“Remind me again why we’re hiding in an animal shelter?”

“Because the guy who works here is suspected of being involved with a dog-fighting ring that is suspected of having connections to HYDRA.”

Sam shifted in his crouch, trying to take some of the pressure of his knees. He really, really did not like this spy shit. He’d rather strap on his wings and fight aliens out in the open any day.

“Stop wiggling,” Bucky hissed. “You’re making too much noise.”

“Both of you be quiet. He’s on the phone now and I need to be able to hear the location.” Steve pulled out his best Captain-America-disapproves look. Normally it would have zero effect on Sam and Bucky, but they _were_ in the middle of the mission.

While waiting for the go-ahead from Steve, Bucky was distracted by something cold and wet nudging his fingers where they were laced through the fencing of the nearest cage. He let himself be distracted for a moment - Sam and Steve could handle something this simple. Really, there was no need for all three of them to be there, but it had been a slow week and they didn’t really like not being able to watch each others’ backs.

Bucky turned his attention to the dog attached to the nose curiously sniffing his right hand. It was a small dog, the color of cream and coffee with giant brown eyes. The fur on the top of his head was curly and soft and Bucky itched to bury his fingers in it. He settled for stroking the part of the dog’s muzzle that he could reach.

“Hey there, sweetheart,” he cooed quietly. “How did such a pretty boy ended up in a place like this?”

The dog looked at him with his sad droopy eyes and snuck his tongue out to tentatively lick Bucky’s hand.

“Aw, you’re a good boy, ain’t you? Ain’t you just the sweetest little thing?”

“Bucky,” Sam interrupted him. “Steve’s got the location. We gotta go.”

“Yeah, okay, just give me a sec.” Bucky turned back to the dog. “Don’t worry little fella, you won’t be here too much longer.”

 

By morning, the dog-fighting ring has been broken up, the people responsible have been arrested, and Steve has passed the HYDRA intel on to Hill. Sam is exhausted and wants nothing more than to go back to the apartment and sleep.

“You two go ahead,” Bucky says. “I’ve got a thing to take care of.”

Sam and Steve stand together and watch him head down the street.

“We’re getting a dog, aren’t we?” Sam asks, a note of resignation in his voice.

Steve looks over at him and grins. “We are definitely getting a dog.” He puts an arm around Sam’s shoulders. “Come on. We’ve got time to squeeze in a quick nap before he gets home.”

 

When they wake up, Bucky is snuggled on the couch with his new dog. There are toys strewn across the floor, food and water bowls in the kitchen, and four different types of treats in the pantry. The three men spend the rest of the day getting acquainted with their new family member and within the week, the dog has each of them fully trained.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Bucky's new dog (aka my parents' dog):


	4. A Beautiful Friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam goes to brunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> inspired by [this post](http://margotkim.tumblr.com/post/138934550776/in-an-ideal-world-sam-wilson-and-nick-fury-would) on Tumblr. [Come say hi!](http://i-will-not-be-caged.tumblr.com)
> 
> This one may or may not actually fit in the Flying high series, but I don't really have anywhere else to put it :)

“Where are you going?” Steve asked. He was sitting at the counter with his coffee and newspaper like he did every Sunday morning.

“Nick and I are doing brunch.” Sam shrugged into his coat.

“Who’s Nick? Should I be jealous?”

Sam paused halfway through tying his scarf. “Wait, are you serious?” He laughed at the confused look on Steve’s face.

“What?”

“No, man, you don’t need to be jealous. I’m doing brunch with Nick Fury.”

“Fury? Brunch?” He put the newspaper down. “You hang out with Fury?”

“Nick Fury is my best friend!” Sam shut the door behind him, apparently thinking that was a sufficient explanation.

Steve looked down at his coffee. “I am so confused.”

The coffee didn’t have any answers.

***

“Thanks for meeting me, Nick.” Sam extended his hand. Fury didn’t uncross his arms.

“I’ve told you - it’s Director Fury.”

“Well, technically Hill is director now, so I’m gonna go with Nick.” Sam waved his outstretched hand and Fury begrudgingly shook it. They made their way to the table and settled into their seats.

“By the way, if Steve asks, we’re best friends.”

“Kid, I don’t even know you.”

“True. But one, I plan on changing that. And two, you should have seen the look on his face when I told him. It was hilarious.”

Fury considered this for a moment. “For as often as he trolls everyone else, watching him twist could be worth it. Alright, fine. I won’t tell him that you’re full of shit.”

Sam leaned back in his chair and grinned. “Nick, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A snow day

“I don’t care if being a super soldier means you can deal with the cold. You don’t _like_ the cold, so you are going to dress like a regular old human.” Sam finished wrapping the scarf around Bucky’s neck and reached for the beanie on the counter.

“Plus you look adorable all bundled up.” Steve leaned and kissed Bucky’s nose. Bucky was unamused.

New York had gotten 6 inches of snow the night before and Steve had proposed they all go out and enjoy it together. Sam was willing to indulge Steve’s romantic view of snow, but Bucky wasn’t quite on board.

“I hate wearing all this shit. It restricts movement and slows down my reflexes.” Bucky crossed his arms in front of his chest. Sam decided against teasing him for pouting; he didn’t seem to be in the mood for it today.

“Don’t worry, baby.” Steve wrapped his arms around him. “We’ll protect you.” Bucky’s answering glare didn’t dampen Steve’s spirits in the least.

Sam grabbed Tater’s leash and they headed out into the streets and walked in the direction of Prospect Park. Steve couldn’t stop grinning as he looked around at the blanket of white on the cars and buildings. He knew that the snow caused problems, that it was a hassle for a lot of people, but he still couldn’t bring himself to hate it. It was beautiful and he could go out and enjoy it without worrying about getting sick or his lungs acting up. Given the choice, he preferred warmth and sunshine, but there was just something about snow that got to him.

When they got to the park, Sam let Tater off the leash so he could run around a bit. Normally he spent 22 hours of the day sleeping, but snow seemed to have the same effect on him as it had on Steve. Bucky watched him bound around and jump into snow drifts and let a small smile slip onto his face.

Steve watched Bucky out of the corner of his eye as he reached down and scooped up a handful of snow. He took advantage of Bucky’s distraction to form a snowball. He aimed carefully for Bucky’s right shoulder and let it fly.

Bucky was more aware than Steve gave him credit for, though, and he simply stepped back to avoid the attack. Steve’s perfectly formed snowball sailed right past him and landed with a thud in the middle of Sam’s back.

Sam turned and looked at both of them. There was a moment of utter stillness, the three men frozen in place, staring at one another, before all hell broke loose. 

 

They eventually exhausted themselves and went back to the apartment. Sam had to carry Tater and when they got home, the dog immediately climbed into his bed and passed out. Bucky made three mugs of hot chocolate (with mini-marshmallows, of course) and they snuggled together on the couch. It took a few minutes to get their large bodies and all their limbs into a comfortable position.

“We have got to get a bigger couch,” Steve complained for the thousandth time as he set aside the empty mugs. He pulled the quilt Sam made for them over their laps and started up an old musical they had in their Netflix queue. By the end of the second song, all three of them were sound asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come say hi [on tumblr](http://i-will-not-be-caged.tumblr.com)!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by [this adorable fan art](http://falcondiment.tumblr.com/post/141683412365/sams-best-day-ever) and a subsequent conversation about Sam being able to talk to dinosaurs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized I never actually posted this ficlet to ao3, so here it is!

They were halfway through watching Jurassic Park when Bucky turned his face up from his position on the floor (he had given up trying to find a comfortable spot with the three of them on the too-small couch) and looked curiously at Sam. Steve went ahead and preemptively paused the movie.

“What?” Sam asked.

“I was reading an article the other day about how birds are basically dinosaurs that survived extinction.”

“Okay…”

“Well, if you can talk to birds, do you think you could talk to dinosaurs?”

Sam considered for a moment. “Maybe? I’ve never really thought of it before.”

“If he could, it would probably only be specific types of dinosaurs. You know, only the ones that are most similar to birds,” Steve chimed in.

“We should find out.” Bucky turned around fully and sat up on his knees, his eyes alight with ideas. “And if you can talk to dinosaurs, and we could recreate dinosaurs like in the movie, we could totally raise our own dinosaurs.”

“Bucky–” Sam tried to break in, but he just kept going.

“I could hang out with dinosaur scientists all day and you could train the babies and eventually they could work with the Avengers. How cool would Natasha look riding a _dinosaur_ into battle?”

“Really fucking cool, but I’ve never even seen the end of this movie and I can tell that wouldn’t be a good idea.”

“Steve’s not wrong.”

“I don’t see why it has to be a bad idea.” Bucky gave them the exaggerated pout Sam was pretty sure he practiced in the mirror.

Steve indulged him and ran his hand through Bucky’s hair. “Trying to tame wild creatures never turns out well, Buck.”

Bucky reached up to take Steve’s hand. “It worked out for the little prince and his fox.” He gave them an even more pathetic puppy dog face, which Sam hadn’t thought was possible. “It worked with me, Stevie, didn’t it?”

Sam could see Bucky was doing his best to control his face, but it wasn’t long before he burst into laughter and Steve smacked him in the back of the head. “Oh, you asshole! Now I’m really not going to get you a dinosaur.”

“Even if Sam could talk to it? Even if we asked really nicely?” Bucky climbed up into Steve’s lap as he spoke and started peppering his face with kisses.

“Yeah, come on Steve.” Sam leaned and joined Bucky in kissing every inch of Steve they could reach. “We really want a dinosaur. We promise to take care of it and train it and not let it go on a rampage through the city.”

“Nope. Not happening.”

Bucky leaned back and looked at him. “Whatever, Steve. You’d give us whatever we asked for, and you know it.” He slid off of Steve’s lap and back into his nest of blankets. “Now push play. I want to watch the rest of the movie.”

“So demanding,” Steve grumbled, but he reached over and grabbed the remote.

And if after the movie he insisted on reading _The Little Prince_ to Sam and Bucky yet again, well, no one had to know.


End file.
